The real life of an Instagram “influencer” or “content creator” that you may not know.

Many don’t understand this job so I wanted to share some things that you don’t know that many of us experience. I consider myself a content creator on Instagram instead of an influencer really. I feel like EVERYONE can be a positive influence on others. YOU can be a positive influence on someone’s life, and it shouldn’t matter how many friends you have on social media. The number next to someone’s name on Instagram shouldn’t determine if that person should be trusted or be considered an “influencer.”

(PS…I hate saying “followers”… the only one I’m following is Jesus.) I’ve had people stop me and let me know they follow me on Instagram. Next time, tell me you’re one of my friends on Instagram! It’s truly how I feel with you all… my friends!

Anyways, here are some insight of the life of a content creator:

–Their brain never stops thinking of what they can do NEXT. It’s so hard to turn off. Being a content creator can be a 24 hour job because there’s always something you can be creating, recording, photographing, posting, etc.

–Wherever they’re at, they’re thinking “should I capture that?” to post on social media.

–They worked their booty off to get to where they’re at. This isn’t an overnight success business. You have to put in the work daily. Many don’t see opportunities or earn income until after 6 months or 1 year from starting.

–It’s so much more work than what it seems. SO many things truly happen behind the scenes as a content creator. Businesses have a team and each person has a role. Most of us content creators do it all ourselves so we wear MANY hats. From planning, purchasing or returning, creating, photographing, recording, editing, posting, marketing, etc.

I know there are people out there that laugh that being an “influencer” isn’t a real job. Well, let’s see you doing it and constantly putting yourself out there. Also, everyone’s compensation is different but I earn more income now than I’ve ever had with any other job. I’m not sure if people think I don’t do anything all day? Ask my husband… we both work from home and most of the time I’m the one who says, “I can’t talk right now. I’m working.” My job is flexible since I create my own hours but it isn’t optional.

–When at a restaurant, they always have this urge to adjust their plate / drink and take a photo from high in the air before eating the food at a restaurant.

–The comparison game is REAL. It doesn’t matter if someone is a “micro influencer” or someone with 100,000+ followers on Instagram.

The moment I feel a sense of jealousy, I make myself snap out of it right away. You really need to because if you don’t you’ll go into a downhill spiral. I was listening to a Joyce Meyer podcast and what she had said has helped me. “Don’t sit there and be jealous. Tell yourself… I’m happy for them and I know God has great plans for me as well!… Fill your heart with HOPE and know that something good is going to happen to you as well!”

–People can be quick to judge of them. People watch a total of 30 seconds or up to 3 minutes of IG stories of a content creator’s life in a day. Let that sink in. That’s 30 seconds (2 IG stories) out of the 86,400 seconds in a day OR 3 minutes (12 IG stories) out of the 1,440 minutes in a day that people watch and then assume they know that person’s entire life.

–They have a hard time opening up and being raw when they know people will judge them. I personally hate hurting anyone’s feelings. Someone always ends up getting offended. It really is… “damned if you do… damned if you don’t.”

–They’re not always confident, but they do it anyway.

–Creating a 15-30 second reel can actually take HOURS to prep, create, edit, and post.

–An Instagram story that people see may not be their first take. There are bloopers with IG stories. It takes a few times to get everything I want to say out before fumbling my words. There have been times I’ll record something and see that it’s a bit too long. I then retake and end up either talking faster or say things that’s more too the point. I don’t want to drag it on and bore people.

–Their life really isn’t all that clean and neat. When taking photos, they have to move boxes, piles of paper, and other random items aside. Especially as content creators in the home field, we are giving home building or decorating inspo ideas. Do you really want a mess in the background distracting you?

–Their life really isn’t all that exciting in real life. Niña and I joke that we are actually pretty boring in real life. 😉

–That one negative comment out of 100 can quickly get them in a bad mood even though they try not to let it bother them.

–Their spouse or significant other quickly have gotten used to taking photos of them. Their spouse or significant other eventually figure out that they have to take various angles so there are a lot of options to choose from.

–One photo is posted but a ton of photos were actually taken.

–They try not to show how mentally exhausted they are.

–The FTC requires them to disclose if they are being paid or are receiving products as gifts.

–They are selective with who they work with. Don’t assume we’re only talking about it because we want to get paid. I do my research before saying yes to a brand. It has to align with my brand and my audience. I probably say no more than I say yes. There are times I reach out to brands because I’m the one who wants to work with them because I already use their products.

–Posting sponsored posts can be a bit nervewracking because we know companies we are working with for that post will be looking at how well it performs. This can affect if they want to work with you again. (Please note that many of us only work with companies we believe in and love. Those sponsored posts that you see is what is financially supporting our families and the ability to be able to create content for you all. A “like” or comment means the world to us!)

–How they spend their time on social media is so different from how others spend their time on social media. I kind of miss the days of when all I did was scroll through social media to look at friends posts.

–They are on their phones a lot even though they try really hard not to be. I have to make myself put the phone down. The job can be a 24/7 job. There’s always something to post, do, and share.

–They love helping and inspiring others. Part of what I love about being a content creator is the ability to help and inspire people in learning something new and believing in themselves.

–They love how they can be creative and be able to think outside the box.

–They can make great income as an influencer / content creator. I’m not sure why people don’t think this is a real job. I would have to do something else if I wasn’t earning income because this mama needs to support the family too!.

–It’s a fun outlet for them. It can be a great distraction to all the noise that’s around.

–They work hard because they love the job.

–It doesn’t feel like a job because they love it so much.

Does that give you an idea of what goes on behind the scenes?! I’m sure there are more! If I think of more I’ll make sure to do a part 2.